Simon Pegg Says Original Star Trek 3 Script Was "Too Star Trek-y"

Simon Pegg has been talking about his work behind-the-scenes on the forthcoming Star Trek movie, explaining that his script-writing duty was to make the sequel “more inclusive.”

Pegg has co-written the movie with Doug Jung, but Roberto Orci, Patrick McKay and John D. Payne have all previously had stabs at the third film in the franchise.

“They had a script for Star Trek that wasn’t really working for them,” the actor told magazine Radio Times (via The Guardian). “I think the studio was worried that it might have been a little too Star Trek-y.

“Avengers Assemble, which is a pretty nerdy, comic-book, supposedly niche thing, made $1.5bn. Star Trek: Into Darkness made half a billion, which is still brilliant. But it means that, according to the studio, there’s still $1bn worth of box office that don’t go and see Star Trek. And they want to know why.”

He further explained “People don’t see it being a fun, brightly coloured, Saturday night entertainment like the Avengers,” adding that the solution was to “make a Western or a thriller or a heist movie, then populate that with Star Trek characters so it’s more inclusive to an audience that might be a little bit reticent.”

In the same interview – which is on news stands now – Pegg also talks about the dumbing down of modern culture, threatening to “retire from geekdom” and bemoaning the fact that society is taking superheroes and comic books so seriously.

“Before Star Wars, the films that were box office hits were The Godfather, Taxi Driver, Bonnie and Clyde, The French Connection – gritty, amoral art movies” he claimed. “Then suddenly the onus switched over to spectacle and everything changed… I don’t know if that’s a good thing.”

So what do you think of Pegg’s comments about this perceived cultural shift? And do you think the Trek movies need to be more inclusive? Let us know in the comments below.

Chris Tilly is the Entertainment Editor for IGN in the UK and will have to agree to disagree with Mr. Pegg on the dumbing down front. He can be found talking nonsense on both The Superhero Show and Twitter.